Facebook puts Instagram Kids on hold amid criticism of planned app
Instagram has hit pause on a new app it is creating for
kids, the photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc said on
Monday, in a move that comes amid growing opposition for the project.
Instagram Kids
had been touted as requiring parental permission to join, and was supposed to
provide ad-free, age-appropriate content, but U.S. lawmakers and advocacy
groups have urged the social media giant to drop its launch plans, citing
safety concerns.
"We won't stop pressuring Facebook until they
permanently pull the plug," said Josh Golin, executive director of
Fairplay, an advocacy group focused on kids.
Instagram said
in a blog post that building Instagram Kids was the right thing to do, but that
it was pausing the work and would continue building on its parental supervision
tools.
"The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe
that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is
far better for parents than where we are today," it said, noting that
there were app versions of Alphabet Inc's YouTube and ByteDance's TikTok for those
under 13.
Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, said on
Monday that the company is exploring features that would "nudge" a
teen away from content on Instagram that its tech system perceives could be
negative, or encourage them to take a break from the app. He spoke in an
interview at the Atlantic Festival.
Four Democratic lawmakers including U.S. Senators Ed Markey and
Richard Blumenthal said on Monday they were pleased by Facebook's decision but
said the pause "is insufficient."
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